


The Death of a Bachelor

by Fernon



Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Angst, Crack, Cute Ending, Fluff, How Do I Tag, M/M, Mingi is a stripper, Sort Of, Strippers & Strip Clubs, Why Did I Write This?, Yoga, Yunho is sort of rich, alternative universe, seventeen members are side characters, so is hyungwon, what is this nonsense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-27
Updated: 2019-04-27
Packaged: 2020-02-07 04:26:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18613117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fernon/pseuds/Fernon
Summary: Yunho falls for the gorgeous man in his yoga class, and through a few rather unfortunate happenings, he finds himself at a bachelor party, where he learns that the gorgeous man in his yoga class is a stripper.Also-Yunho falls in love with Mingi, gets rejected by Mingi and then finds out Mingi is a stripper





	The Death of a Bachelor

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so. I got the idea to make Mingi a stripper because, well. DID YOU SEE WHAT THAT EUROPEAN AIR DID TO THAT BOY WTF. 
> 
> I honestly have no clue what this is, there's not really a plot, and I'm terrified to post this.(AKA the only well thought through thing about this was the title.) But, nonetheless, I'm going to. I also have no idea what it's like inside a strip club, or how it works, so this is what came out of it. Sorry y'all.

Yunho stares at the invitation in his hand. Seonghwa was getting  _ married? _ He couldn’t fucking believe it. He’d only moved six months ago, to be with this guy, but they’d met in college, and they’d been together for almost three years. It was a long time coming, Yunho supposes. He just wasn’t expecting it, because in all the conversations he’s had with Seonghwa since he moved, Seonghwa had never mentioned marriage, or said that they were discussing marriage. 

Yunho had only met Seonghwa’s boyfriend twice, and both times, Hongjoong was very shy and quiet, and Seonghwa did most of the leading in the relationship, to Yunho’s knowledge. But Hongjoong was nice, and sweet, and caring, and gentle. Which was… sort of the opposite of Seonghwa. Seonghwa was loud and wild, but still gentle and caring when he needed to be, but he was a big fan of PDA, and he liked to have attention on him at all times, he liked to dance with strangers, and wear crop tops and short shorts and fishnets, and party. Seonghwa liked to have fun, and from what Yunho had seen of Hongjoong, he was… boring, in comparison.

Hongjoong is an accountant, or something of those lines, and when he went out for drinks, he had one, and sat quietly at the bar and chatted with a few people. Seonghwa is a model, who’s always been big in the party scene, and was somewhat of a local celebrity in the country. How the  _ hell _ he had ended up with Hongjoong was beyond Yunho, but they fit well together, Hongjoong balanced out Seonghwa’s party animal, and Seonghwa brought some excitement to Hongjoong’s life. 

They’re  _ good for each other. _

Yunho was over the moon for Seonghwa.

“Seonghwa, you little shit! You couldn’t have called when he proposed?!” Yunho laughs over the phone, holding the invitation, looking over the date. 

“Well, we wanted it to be a surprise! He surprised me when he pulled the ring out of his pocket.” Seonghwa giggles. “I’m so excited, Yunho! I can’t wait!”

“Obviously! This is such big news!” Yunho beams. “I’m so happy for you guys! Hongjoong is a good man, I know he’ll take good care of you.”

“I know. And I’ll take care of him. I love him, Yunho… More than I’ve ever loved anyone. I- I don’t know how to explain it, but… I’d never thought about it before- marriage or families, or whatever, but… the second the words came out of his mouth… It’s all I could picture. Just… him and me, for the rest of my life.” Seonghwa’s voice is soft. 

“I know, Seonghwa. I’m so happy for you two! You’re perfect for each other.” Yunho smiles, genuinely happy for his best friend. 

“What about you, Yunho? We’re not getting any younger, you’ll be 28 in a month. You need to get out there!” Seonghwa whines. 

Yunho rolls his eyes. Sure, he’s never been a partygoer, he’s never been one for relationships- he’d only been in four, since he was 16, and only one of them lasted longer than six months. He’d been on a few  _ dates _ , here and there, sure. But none of them called back, or if they did, it was only a few weeks after that and they’d disappear from his life. 

Yunho wasn’t boring, at least he didn’t think he was. He goes hiking regularly, with his dog, Sakura, and he’d even gone skydiving once. He goes out for drinks with his coworkers when they ask, and he’ll dance, if he’s invited, and takes vacations to tropical islands every other year. Yunho is a writer, he writes short stories- he even has a few published works under an alias- and his main work is in a law office. He’s got money, and he doesn’t flaunt it, other than his Audi sports car, which he had been something he wanted for years. He wasn’t particularly busy, he just went to an art class once a week, and did a yoga class on Monday and Friday.

But for some reason, dating was never… something he was good at. 

Yunho just shakes his head (not that Seonghwa could see) and sighs. “Seonghwa, we don’t need to discuss my perpetual singleness every time I call you.” Yunho teases.

“Yes we do! I’m concerned, Yunho. We all know you’re a dumb hopeless romantic. Get  _ out  _ there! Initiate something with that hot guy from your gym! You rave about his cute butt on the regular!” 

“ _ Jongho? _ No! He’s  _ married _ , and he’s the trainer at the gym, and I said he was good looking  _ once _ , not the guy with the hot ass at yoga. The hot guy at the yoga class is lanky as fuck, and has nice thighs.” Yunho laughs. 

“Exactly! Ask him out! Talk to him!” Seonghwa practically shouts. 

“No, Seonghwa, because when he rejects me, I’m going to have to find a new yoga class, and I’ve made friends in this yoga class.” Yunho whines. 

“You’ve never liked initiating stuff. But you need to! Otherwise you’ll end up alone forever.”

Yunho can hear Seonghwa’s pout over the phone, and Yunho just laughs. “And what’s wrong with that? Maybe I want to be an adventurer!”

“Shut up, we all know you wish you had a boyfriend to be all cute and domestic with you, and cook breakfast for you in the morning. You want to be taken  _ care of _ , Yunho. You want to be loved unconditionally. And you want someone to give you forehead kisses, and to pull you into hugs randomly while you cook, and you want-”

“Okay, okay, okay, I get it, Seonghwa. I called you drunk  _ one time _ and now I can’t live it down.” 

“At least  _ talk _ to the yoga class guy. You don’t have to ask him out or anything. Just initiate conversation.”

“Why, so I can learn about him and fall hopelessly in love with him, only to find out he’s straight and the woman he talks to every day in the yoga class is his wife?” Yunho mumbles. 

“Well you didn’t mention that part!” Seonghwa whines. 

“Well that’s because I don’t see a ring on either of them, but that doesn’t mean that she couldn’t be his girlfriend or something.”

“I guess you’ll never know unless you talk to him. Oh! By the way, you wanna be my best man? You can help me plan shit...”

Yunho gladly accepts. 

****

A week later, he finds himself in charge of planning the wedding dinner, and in charge of finding them a photographer, and the wedding cake. Seonghwa had declared that he and Hongjoong were planning the rest of the stuff, including their bachelor parties, and Yunho had groaned when he mentioned that part.

Another week later, Yunho finds himself at yoga, in the third row like usual, a few spots over and behind the tall guy with the nice legs, and Seonghwa’s words ring through his head. By the end of class, he’s laying on the mat with his eyes closed, taking deep, measured breaths, and listening to the nature sounds and the quiet pan flute drifting from the instructor’s stereo, in full zen mode. 

He had noticed the guy wearing a Panic! at the Disco t- shirt when he had walked into class, so Yunho was hoping to use that to strike up conversation. The music stops and the instructor tells them to slowly begin moving their limbs, starting with their fingers and toes, simply just by wiggling them, and then up through their arms and legs, just shifting around a little, and then to open their eyes slowly, and to keep their breathing measured. Yunho knows the whole routine, he’s been coming to this yoga class for well over a year now.

Finally the instructor tells them to sit up, and tells them she’ll see them next class, and everyone begins packing up their mats and slipping their sneakers back on. Yunho sees the tall man speaking softly to the woman who always comes with him. Yunho frantically rolls up his mat and slips it into the pack that he’d bought to put it in, and he starts tugging his sneakers onto his feet, stumbling a little, watching as the tall guy is finished packing, and just leans on the end of his rolled up mat, chatting with her. Yunho slings his yoga mat over his shoulder, and starts to pretend to coolly walk past, and pauses for a second when pausing the tall guy. 

“I like your shirt.” Yunho says, and his voice doesn’t come out quite loud, but the tall guy’s eyes focus behind the woman onto Yunho and he smiles. 

“Thanks. They’re one of my favorite bands. I’ve had this shirt for forever.” 

Holy  _ fuck _ his voice was  _ deep _ and  _ rich _ and Yunho wanted to fucking  _ drown in it.  _

“Uh, yeah, I’ve been listening to their stuff for a while myself. That guy has quite a voice, I’d kill for a vocal range like his.” Yunho laughs a little, and the guy’s smile brightens. 

“Right? It’s killer.”

“Well, I’ll see you next week.” Yunho waves, and turns to go, and Mr. Tall waves behind him, saying goodbye. Yunho feels like fainting. 

****

Another week later, Yunho is driving out to get fitted for his suit, and to help Seonghwa pick out his own suit, and to gather decorations in his desired color scheme, and recounting his only interaction with Mr. Tall. 

“Why do you call him that, Yunho? You realize you’re a bean pole yourself, right?” Seonghwa has been laughing at ‘Mr. Tall,’ to which Yunho could only roll his eyes. 

“He’s almost as tall as me, if not as tall as me. And I still don’t know his name, Seonghwa. Stop judging.” Yunho states. 

****

The next day, Yunho finds himself at yoga again, setting up his mat in his usual spot in the third row, when Mr. Tall walks in, this time without that woman by his side, and he seems to be looking for someone. His eyes fall on Yunho- did he imagine this? Yunho looks away, so it doesn’t look like he was looking a Mr. Tall, and focuses on the mat, but glances behind him to see if anyone Mr. Tall ever talks to is there. 

“Hello!” Yunho jumps about a mile when Mr. Tall unravels his mat and plops it down on the floor beside Yunho’s 

“Uh- hi.” Yunho blinks in shock, and Mr. Tall smiles wide at him.

“I’m Mingi.”

“Nice to meet you. I’m Yunho.” Yunho reaches out to shake his hand, and Mingi gladly accepts it. 

“So, other than Panic, what groups do you listen to?” Mingi looks at him curiously, and Yunho studies his face for a moment. His head is cocked slightly to the side, giving him a look like a puppy trying to understand what someone’s saying. His eyes are bright, and his lips are full, and he has a soft button nose, that Yunho kind of wants to poke. His cheeks are soft, but his cheekbones are high, and sharp, like a model’s would be. He’s gorgeous. 

“Uh… Fall Out Boy? Some pop artists, uh… just about anything classic rock.” Yunho tries to mentally go through the discography on his phone, his brain blanking on just about everything, though. 

“Classic rock? Like…?” Mingi pushes.

“Queen? Metallica… the Beatles. Uh… not that I know that they’re really rock? I like David Bowie’s stuff… I guess just older music. Um, yeah. That’s what I can think of.” Yunho shrugs, definitely feeling a bit awkward. 

Mingi nods with a smile. “That’s cool. I listen to a lot of the older music too. But I’m a… dancer, sort of... so I’m also into… some more modern stuff.” Mingi nods. 

“Alright cool.” Yunho nods and gives him a smile, and Mingi sits on his mat next to Yunho’s, and starts stretching. Yunho joins him in stretching.

“So, what do you do for work?” Yunho asks tentatively. 

“I… Work at a club.” Mingi nods. 

“Oh, cool. So late nights, I’m guessing?” 

Mingi nods. “What about you?”

“I’m a lawyer. And a writer, I guess. I have a few published stories.”

“That’s so cool? What have you written? Anything that I know?”

“Probably. One of my novels got…  _ big,  _ I guess. Not a Times best seller or anything. Your girlfriend has probably read my stuff… It’s kind of romance-y.” Yunho finds himself cringing a bit at his own words.

Mingi blinks. “Girlfriend? What?”

“I don’t know, whoever the woman you always bring to yoga… I didn’t mean to assume…” Yunho bites his lip, a blush on his cheeks with embarrassment. 

Mingi starts laughing at that, rather loudly, too. “Oh no! She’s not my girlfriend. She’s my co-worker. I’m gay.” 

Yunho blushes. “Oh! Sorry. That was probably offensive, then…”

“No, it’s alright. I get that a lot. We’re just really good friends.” Mingi smiles warmly.

They chat a bit more, most of the conversation just getting to know one another, and discussing interests and tastes, until the instructor comes in and rings the gong to begin. Yunho goes through his usual yoga routine, letting himself relax, and calm down from the nerves he’s feeling from talking to Mingi. Yoga passes by in a blur. Before he knows it, it’s over, and Yunho finds himself rolling his yoga mat up, Mingi doing the same beside him. 

“Hey, Yunho? You wanna come get froyo with me?” Mingi asks. 

Yunho blinks. “Like, me?”

“Yes you!” Mingi laughs. “I don’t know any other Yunho’s.”

“I- that sounds great.” Yunho smiles, and he finds himself blushing again. Mingi smiles warmly at him, a small giggle tumbling from his lips.

“Alright let’s go then.”

****

Yunho recounts the froyo trip to Seonghwa over the phone, and Seonghwa squeals. 

“Awe, that’s so cute!” Seonghwa is giggling like a madman, and Yunho is just shaking his head. 

“Why do you live so vicariously through me?!” Yunho laughs. 

“Because I’m a committed man, Yunho! It’s time for me to play matchmaker instead of being match-made!” Seonghwa laughs, and Yunho can hear Hongjoong yelling ‘yah, shut up, you love being with me!’ and laughing in the background.

“Ew, you guys are so gross!” Yunho laughs and he can hear Hongjoong shouting at Yunho to shut up, and the three of them laugh loudly for a few minutes about everything, and then it quiets down. 

****

Yunho greets Mingi with a smile next yoga class, and his friend from work is there, and she nudges Mingi with her elbow and goes and sits with another woman in the class, leaving Mingi flushed as he makes his way over to Yunho. 

“Hey, Yunho.” Mingi smiles coolly at Yunho. Yunho feels his cheeks heat up, and he ducks a little, hoping to hide his blush. 

“Hi, Mingi.” Yunho looks up at Mingi, who’s-  _ smirking _ at him?

“How have you been? How’s the lawyer thing coming?”

“Uh. I’ve been good. It’s… stressful. Well, not really stressful. It’s work, I suppose. This case is a tough one. It’s a custody one.” Yunho nods. Mingi pouts a little. 

“Poor kid. I can imagine it’s tough.”

And then until it’s time for yoga to begin, they talk about everything and anything imaginable. Their childhoods, good restaurants, their pets- in which Yunho shows Mingi a photo of Sakura, and Mingi coos and lets out an excited squeal, asking if they can meet sometime outside of yoga because Mingi absolutely loves dogs. Yunho laughs and gladly agrees to meet him sometime. 

After class, Yunho finds himself once again picking up conversation with Mingi, chatting amicably, and then he’s blinking in shock, when Mingi is asking to exchange numbers. 

“I- uh yeah, of course. Here.” Yunho pulls out his phone and has Mingi put his number in, and sends himself a text from Yunho’s phone. 

“There. I’ll text you, maybe we can get lunch or dinner or something.” Mingi smiles. “And I can meet Sakura.”

****

Three weeks later, Yunho is finally finished with his case, and caught up on wedding planning for Seonghwa, and is three chapters closer to finishing his latest novel, when he decides to strike up a conversation with Mingi. He asks if Wednesday night, they could meet up and get something for dinner, and maybe walk Sakura at the dog park with him. 

Mingi gladly agrees, and Yunho is left red faced and calling Seonghwa once again. 

“YOU HAVE A DATE?! HONGJOONG! OUR YUNHO ASKED HIS YOGA CLASS BOY ON A DATE!” Yunho winces and pulls the phone away from his ear as best as he can. “It’s not a date, Seonghwa! We’re just going to hang out!” 

Which Seonghwa adamantly denies, and starts sing-songing ‘Yunho’s got a da-ate!’ until Yunho threatens to beat him up, and Seonghwa assures Yunho that he’s his favorite person. Which just makes Yunho roll his eyes. 

****

The night of dinner, Yunho  _ definitely _ isn’t panicking. He’d just had Sakura groomed Monday, so she was looking her absolute best- he even put her cute pink bandana on over her collar. It was a matter of wondering how casually he should dress- not that he has much in terms of casual, since work typically has him in suits, or something of the sort. He literally owns three pairs of jeans, and maybe six t-shirts, which he relished in during the weekends. He settles on a powder blue button down and his favorite pair of dark wash blue skinny jeans, which he rolls up at the bottom and puts his usual dress shoes on. 

He sends a picture to Seonghwa, who had demanded to know what Yunho planned on wearing, and insisted on hourly updates (‘unless they were having sex, then it would be okay if he wasn’t getting hourly updates’ to which Yunho had wished he could reach through the phone and smack him.).

_ Add a cardigan or light jacket, but CARRY it over your shoulder, like this. _ Seonghwa snapped him a picture of him standing in front of a mirror with a blanket laid out and tossed over his shoulder, which he was holding with two fingers. Of course, it was something utterly  _ model _ , or perhaps ‘bad greaser boy-esque’ and Yunho couldn’t help but roll his eyes. 

_ Seonghwa, I’m not a model. I’m not going to carry a jacket around like that. It’s impractical. _ Yunho shoved his phone in his pocket and left his hair the way it usually is. He shrugs, figuring it’s nice but casual, and grabs his wallet, and Sakura’s leash, to which she saw and started wagging her tail excitedly. She’s the best behaved dog that Yunho knows, and even when excited, she’d maybe bark twice, and mostly was full of tail-wagging and butt-wiggling. He hooks her to her leash and she walks right beside him to the car, hops in, and sits happily in the back seat. 

Yunho is supposed to pick Mingi up at his apartment, so he double checks the address, puts it on maps, and hooks his phone up to the bluetooth in his car, playing his favorite playlist. He backs out of his garage and heads into the city, following the directions given to him with ease. He pulls up outside of an old brick building in a decent part of the city, not exactly upscale, but it’s not the slums, and Yunho shoots Mingi a text, letting him know that he’s here.

Normally, Yunho would walk to his apartment door and knock, but Mingi had informed him that the apartment building requires your key card to enter, for security purposes. So Yunho gets out of the car, reaching in to pet Sakura, who’s giving him a most curious look, and assures her that he’ll be back. He stands outside his car, and sees Mingi’s face appear in the little window of the door, before he comes out. He’s got on a cable-knit, cream colored sweater, and light blue ripped jeans, and his hair is actually styled, unlike what Yunho typically sees at yoga class. 

Mingi looks absolutely stunning, and Yunho suddenly feels nervous. Mingi grins at him.

“You look really good.” Mingi shoots him that show stopping smile, and Yunho feels himself grinning sheepishly. 

“Thanks… You- you look really good too, very… cozy, and soft.” Yunho stumbles over his words, and Mingi just smiles fondly. 

“Where’s Sakura?” Mingi’s soft smile grows into a grin, and Yunho laughs. 

“She’s in the backseat.” Yunho opens the back door of the gray vehicle, and Sakura hops out, tail wagging, sniffing Mingi, circling around him excitedly, doing a bit of a prance as she goes about. Mingi holds out his hand and she licks him happily, letting out a small yip of excitement. 

“She’s beautiful! Aren’t you, Sakura?” Mingi’s smiling brightly now, and dropping to his knees so he can be level with her, and he scratches her behind her ears. Sakura is absolutely in love, and Yunho can’t help but laugh.

“I think she likes you more than she likes me!” Yunho smiles at his dog giving Mingi ‘kisses’, while Mingi giggles. Yunho thinks he’s having a heart attack, and he wishes he could take a picture of this. It’s the cutest thing Yunho thinks he’s ever seen. 

After Mingi plays with Sakura a bit more, Yunho loads Sakura back into the backseat, and opens Mingi’s door for him. He shuts it carefully behind Mingi, and then climbs into the driver’s seat. He drives them a bit farther into the city, to the dog park, and finds parking for the two of them. Mingi is just as excited as Sakura is to get to the dog park, and Mingi stops and asks to pet every single dog he sees. Sakura is a little more than jealous, but he always gives her pets afterwards too, and Yunho’s heart has this fuzzy feeling in it, and he can’t seem to shake it. 

****

Six months later, and a lot of ‘dates’ (at least Yunho considers them dates, but Mingi denies the word date every time Yunho brings it up). Yunho thinks Mingi is just shy, but eventually he warms up, and is very into PDA, like holding hands, and snuggling in the movie theater. Yunho debates asking Mingi out several times, but decides to give it more time. Seonghwa accuses him of having heart eyes when he talks about Mingi, but Yunho adamantly denies it. 

But today, Yunho decides he’s going to do it. It’s two weeks to Seonghwa’s wedding, and Yunho wants Mingi to come. Like, as his date. 

As in, he wants to make things official. 

They’re meeting up to take Sakura for a walk again, which Mingi was super excited for. They wander the park, Sakura wagging her tail happily, sniffing around the trees and in the grass, and occasionally she stops to sniff at and greet another dog. Dusk is falling over the park, and the street lights are popping on one by one, and Yunho turns to Mingi with a shy smile on his face. They begin the walk back to Mingi’s apartment building, where Yunho had parked. 

He doesn’t know how long he watches Mingi, stealing small glances at him, but Mingi seems to catch on, and he looks over at Yunho, curiosity in his eyes. “What are you thinking? You have that look you get when you’re thinking. Or planning something. Something like that.”

“Well… I was just. I was thinking, you’re right. About this wedding I have to go to in a couple of weeks.”

“Oh…?” Mingi raises an eyebrow.

“Well. You see, I don’t have a date… And, I was kind of hoping you’d come with me, as my date? Like… As my boyfriend.” Yunho watches him, eyes full of hope. Mingi stops; they’re not too far from Mingi’s apartment steps, just a few feet away. Mingi stares at him. 

“I… Yunho…” Mingi blinks a few times, like he’s shocked. “Are you… asking me to be your boyfriend?”

“I- well, yes, and for you to be my date to this wedding.” Yunho shuffles his feet around nervously, noticing Mingi doesn’t exactly seem thrilled. 

“No, I- I can’t.” Mingi is shaking his head rather frantically. 

“Can’t- can’t what? Be my date?” Yunho feels his heart fall, dropping through the pavement.

“No, well- yes, you’re right, I can’t be your date, but- I can’t date you, either. I can’t be your boyfriend.”

Yunho’s heart drops into the sewer under the streets now. “What? Why?” Yunho feels like his brain isn’t comprehending any of this. What is this about? He thought he and Mingi had something… But then again, that’s what fools say, isn’t it?

“I just. No. I don’t. Goodbye, Yunho.” Mingi turns on his heel and leaves, hurrying up the steps of his building, leaving Yunho standing there, jaw dropped, staring at the sidewalk ahead of him. Sakura whines and paces a bit, like she wants to follow Mingi, but she instead turns back to Yunho and nudges his hand with her nose, snuffling around at his leg and palm, and then whines again. 

“Let’s go, Sakura. Home.” Yunho says quietly, his voice full of tears. 

****

Yunho tries texting Mingi the next morning, apologizing. The message can’t be received. 

He’s been blocked. 

****

Yunho wants no part in this bachelor party the second that Seonghwa opens the envelope and reads “bar crawl, wine tour, and strip club weekend” with more enthusiasm than necessary. Yunho shoots a look at Hongjoong, honestly shocked that he’d pick a  _ strip club _ for his fiance's bachelor party. 

“Hongjoong, what the fuck?” Yunho mutters, but Seonghwa and all his party animal friends are squealing and giggling, and teasing a red-faced Seonghwa. Hongjoong shrugs in response. 

“I figured that all his friends are still single. And parties are Seonghwa’s scene. My only rule is, he’s not allowed to get a lap dance. That’s my job.” 

Yunho nearly chokes on his own spit at that. “Oh my dear god…” Yunho groans and shoves his face in his hands. Why was Yunho friends with Seonghwa? Why couldn’t he have been friends with Hongjoong, and gone on the camping trip that Seonghwa had chosen and planned for Hongjoong’s bachelor party?

“Oh, come on, Yunho! Now you can’t be all sad and mopey that Mingi won’t go out with you anymore!” Seonghwa coos, and pinches Yunho’s cheek, and he just brushes him off. 

“I can be sad all I damn well want. Strip clubs aren’t going to fix that.” Yunho mumbles, and Seonghwa pouts. 

“No, but alcohol will!” Seonghwa’s model friend, San, chimes in. They laugh at Yunho’s disgruntled face. 

“Self medicating isn’t a healthy coping method…” Yunho mutters, but to no avail, since they’re all jumping and cheering. The next three days of Yunho’s life are gonna be absolutely  _ awful.  _

****

Spending Friday night watching lame 80’s movies with Seonghwa and his friends while they drink fruity cocktails absolutely sucks, and Yunho just stares out the window for all five movies they watch, and barely even drinks an entire margarita, and Seonghwa seems to notice, and confronts him shortly after everyone else has been tucked into the spare bedrooms. Yunho has made himself comfortable on the air mattress in the living room, and is scrolling through all four of the photos he has of himself and Mingi (and Sakura, in one of them) and sighing miserably. He shoves his face into the pillow with a groan, and hears footsteps approaching.

The air mattress beside him dips in. “Yunho, are you okay?”

“I’m fine, Seonghwa.” Yunho doesn’t even move his face from the pillow. 

“It was only a few days ago, it’s okay if you’re not okay.”

“It was five days ago, Seonghwa, and I’m being stupid. We weren’t even in a relationship, not really. Even if I tried to-” Yunho stops himself with a sigh. 

“Well, he’s the asshole that told you that he didn’t want to see you anymore. It’s not your fault, Yunho. He led you on for four and a half months.”

“But he’s not an asshole, Seonghwa. That’s the thing. I didn’t ever ask him to actually be my boyfriend. I mean I hinted at it, and stuff, but…” Yunho finally removes his face from the pillow and looks at Seonghwa.

“But he never denied it _. _ I know, Yunho. And he kept letting you take him out on little dates. It wasn’t fair to you, making you believe that he wanted more out of it than he was willing to give. Please don’t be miserable at my wedding.”

“I won’t be. I promise.” Yunho says quietly. “It’s just- these things aren’t really my speed. You know, partying and drinking…”

“Yeah, I know. We’re getting too old to be into this stuff. But think of this as a last hurrah. I won’t drag you to anything more like this. Go out tomorrow, dance with hot single guys, get their numbers, ask them on dates. Just… Don’t let Mingi breaking up with you drag you down.” Seonghwa rubs Yunho’s back, and then kinda lays with him and hugs him, and Yunho sighs. “Tell you what, you and me, we can have a spa night for the rest of tonight, the others are all passed out. We’ll do face masks, and tomorrow I’ll do your hair and makeup, and you’ll be the hottest guy in all the clubs.”

“What is this, a chick flick?” Yunho laughs a little, and Seonghwa pouts.

“No! I just- fine, I was just trying to be nice.” Seonghwa turns away with a pout, pretending to be angry. Yunho sighs. 

“Alright, fine, you can make me over. But good luck, you can’t fix ugly.” Yunho jokes.

“You are  _ not ugly! _ ” Seonghwa laughs, swatting at Yunho’s arm angrily, and Yunho laughs too. 

“Well, I’m a perpetually single lawyer in a group of well practiced models, I’m pretty sure I’ll be the ugly one of the group.” Yunho laughs. 

“Listen, the only reason I got picked up by the modeling agency is because they noticed  _ you _ first! Mr. Legs, over here, with your tall lanky self.”

“I was a dancer, what do you expect from me?!” Yunho giggles. 

So, he lets Seonghwa drag him to the bathroom, and washes his face, while Seonghwa gets his big case of face care products out, and some cute little headbands, and hands it to Yunho to slip on, and push his hair out of his face. Much to Yunho’s dismay, the hairband is pink and fuzzy, and is makes his hair stick up and flop over the edges of it, and Seonghwa has a giggle fit, and then picks out a mask and smears it all over Yunho’s face. 

****

Yunho wakes up the next morning to Seonghwa shaking him awake, informing him that the first of his friends were showering and getting ready for the evening ahead, and Yunho raises an eyebrow. “Why so early?”

“Obviously, they need time to do hair and makeup. Are you still gonna let me do your hair and makeup?” Seonghwa looks hopeful, but Yunho grimaces a bit. He was never someone who felt all the glam was necessary.

“Well… I suppose. But only this  _ one time _ .” Yunho says sternly. Seonghwa beams, and ushers him upstairs, telling him he’ll be the first to shower.

Seonghwa’s first order of business once Yunho is out of the shower is styling his hair up and out of his face. Various gels and hairsprays and heating tools go into that part of the process, but Seonghwa turns him around and has him view the work. Yunho blinks. Just from having his hair out of his face, Yunho was shocked with the look. 

“Dang, Yunho!” One of Seonghwa’s model friends- Jeonghan, Yunho thinks- laughs from the doorway, and Yunho’s face flushes. 

“I know! He’ll be a masterpiece by the time I’m done with him.” Seonghwa smirks, and Yunho’s eyes widen in fear. Before he can protest, Seonghwa spins him around and pulls out his makeup bag.

“Shit, I don’t think your tone is the same as mine. Hang on. San, Mingyu! Come here!”

And so, Seonghwa goes through all his friend’s makeup and his own, smearing swatches on Yunho’s neck and throat to match his shade. He ends up being closest to Wooyoung, who gladly allows Yunho to borrow his foundation, and whatever else Seonghwa smears on his face. 

“Pretty good, if I do say so myself.” Seonghwa nods with approval and gets started with  _ eye makeup _ and when the hell did it take almost an hour to do his whole face of makeup?! And now Seonghwa is coloring on his eyebrows, or something, and combing them and so help Yunho, he’d better not look like one of those angry shiba dogs, with the little eyebrow patches. Yunho starts getting antsy with whatever Seonghwa is brushing over his lids and poking at his eyelashes with. 

“Hold still, dammit, you’re almost done.” Seonghwa smears lip- stick? Gloss? Tint?- something over his lips, and then he’s spinning Yunho around, and Yunho can only blink. 

“What the hell?” Yunho stares at himself wide eyed. Seonghwa really contoured his face, or something, because every one of his features looks- sharper. Even the normal roundness in the apples of his cheeks looked less soft, and less prominent. His eyes were lined with some brownish-black liner, and they looked sharper, somewhere close to- dare he say-  _ sexy? _ There was some brown-ish gold-ish shadowing near the corners of his eyes, and his lips were a deep rosy shade- nothing unnatural, but they looked full, and soft. 

Yunho doesn’t know how long he stands there, but Seonghwa laughs. “I see you’re impressed with my work. I need a picture of you all done up, Hongjoong bet me money that I’d never get makeup on you. Pictures later, when we’re all dressed though. Now get out of my bathroom so I can make myself up. Shoo!” Seonghwa ushers him from the bathroom, and Yunho stands there for a second, almost unsure of what he should do. 

So Yunho just goes to his bag and fishes out some clothes, grabbing the outfit he had packed for today- jeans, and a button down. Doesn’t really fit the rest of the look, but it’s what he’s got. Yunho hurries from the room, only to run into Hyungwon and Wooyoung, who look over his outfit.

“What the hell are you wearing?!” Wooyoung nearly shouts, looking shocked at his choice of outfit. 

“Uh. My clothes?”

“Not for this occasion, it’ll never do. Come with me.” Wooyoung ushers him into the room and digs through his suitcase-  _ suitcase?!- _ of clothes, and pulls out an extra outfit for Yunho. “Try these.” Wooyoung shoves the clothes in his arms and then shuts the door behind him. Yunho lays them out and stares at- oh good lord, are those  _ fishnets? _

Yunho has no idea how fishnets are supposed to go with jeans, but the second he takes a better look at the jeans, he sees that they’re more rips than actual jeans. So he puts the fishnets under the jeans which- holy  _ shit  _ they’re tight- and then the shirt goes on and- it’s a deep maroon color, and it’s so sheer that Yunho can see every detail of his chest and torso, and  _ oh good god _ you can see every mistake he made as a rebellious young adult.

But it’s a button down, and Yunho supposes that’s at least sort of comforting, so he does it up, all the way to the top one like he usually does, just leaving the collar button undone, and it’s sleeveless, and Yunho is suddenly glad that he’s gone to the gym every other day for the last two years, because otherwise he’d still be scrawny and gross. 

Seonghwa pops in, and stares at Yunho. “I mean, I knew about the tattoo, but, Yunho. When the  _ fuck _ did you get your nipples pierced?!” Seonghwa practically screams. 

“When I was 22 and drunk as hell. I regret it, but had no idea how to undo it.” Yunho winces at that memory, and Seonghwa laughs, and then San and Wooyoung are trying to push their way in the room, and Yunho can hear the rest of Seonghwa’s friends thundering up the stairs. 

They all burst into the room and stare at Yunho. Mingyu, perhaps the tamest of all Seonghwa’s friends, raises his eyebrows. “Nice work, Seonghwa.”

“The clothes are Hyungwon’s.” Wooyoung states. “But I styled him. Speaking of… small adjustment to be made.” He reaches over and undoes the top three buttons of the shirt. 

“Now I feel scrawny, he fills my jeans out really well.” Hyungwon laughs. Yunho’s face is definitely a deep red. 

“Well if no guys pick him up then I’ll gladly take him home.” Jeonghan laughs. Yunho wants to crawl in a hole and die as the rest of the guys swoon over him- even if he  _ does _ admit that he looks  _ hot as fuck. _

****

They leave another three hours later, after they played some games and had some snacks and a light dinner, and Seonghwa insists on taking group photos, and most of them get individual photos, since they’re  _ models _ , after all, and they’ve all got a decent instagram following. Yunho is left to take most of the photos, but Seonghwa stops him from just standing in the background in all the photos. 

“Listen, you don’t look this good just for you to not get your picture taken.”

“I don’t even  _ use _ instagram!” Yunho whines, and Seonghwa tuts disapprovingly, and has the other guys pose him while Seonghwa snaps photos. The sun is starting to set, and Seonghwa squeals over the lighting, and then shoves Yunho’s phone into his hands and they all crawl into the limo that Hongjoong had apparently ordered for their bar crawl, and Yunho is sat between Seonghwa and Jeonghan, and Yunho stops paying attention when they begin to discuss their photos and which ones to post on instagram. 

Yunho pulls his phone out and scrolls through all 37 photos Seonghwa had snapped of him, and Yunho can’t help but stare. He looks like a healthy, young, fun-loving 28-year old man should. But more glamorous. And he looks  _ careless. _ Which he most certainly was not. Yunho decides on one particular photo, where he’s looking intensely at the camera, and decides to post it, no captions, no context. Just that  _ one photo. _

Not even five minutes later, the notification pops up on his screen. 

‘ _ Mingi_song89 liked your photo.’ _

****

Yunho has maybe two drinks their entire bar crawl, and dances with  _ several _ guys, which feels- wrong, somewhere inside, but he can’t get that single, damn notification out of his head.  _ Mingi _ wanted to cut ties with Yunho,  _ Mingi _ was the one who hadn’t called or texted Yunho in almost a week. Why the  _ fuck _ would he like Yunho’s Instagram post? He definitely doesn’t know what to do with this thought, but it turns his whole mood upside down. Mingi just up and left, and now he’s liking his fucking Instagram posts. Yunho is somewhere between depressed, and in disbelief. 

But despite it, Yunho does his best to let loose and have fun. Several guys have hit on him throughout the night, but none of them were more than a possible hook up. Which Yunho definitely was  _ not _ looking for. But he agreed to dance with a few guys, and even has some decent conversations with one of them. Another guy was young and  _ extremely _ drunk and entirely too flirty for Yunho’s taste, so that went absolutely nowhere. 

Now it’s time for Yunho’s probably  _ least _ favorite part of the night. 

The damn strip club. 

Hongjoong got them a fucking  _ reserved table _ , for fucks sake, and Yunho hates whatever song is playing right now, and Hyungwon is giggling drunkenly and trying to flirt with Mingyu, of all people, which Mingyu was showing some interest in, believe it or not. Jeonghan had made Seonghwa escort him to the bathroom, and San was making googly eyes at Wooyoung, who halfway through the night, Yunho had discovered was his boyfriend. Which left himself, sitting at the table well alone, probably looking sad and alone. He glanced around at the rest of the room, seeing a few other full tables, some older business men- Yunho shuddered at that thought- and some younger, more wild crowds, much like the group he was with. 

Seonghwa and Jeonghan return to the table, taking the two empty seats separating Yunho from Wooyoung and San, who were being rather affectionate. Wooyoung was drunk off his ass, and San was a bit beyond tipsy. Seonghwa looks to Yunho, a small pout on his lips. 

“Cheer up, Yunho.”

“I’m not sad. Just… Not in my element, Seonghwa.” Yunho sighs.

“Well, you look damn good. Be confident, get wild tonight.” Seonghwa elbows him. “If you want a private session I’ll gladly pay for it!” Seonghwa falls into a fit of giggles, and Yunho shakes his head. 

“I’m not drunk enough for this.”

“You’re not even tipsy, you dumb giant.” Jeonghan states, and Yunho rolls his eyes. Jeonghan is the only other one who might be close to as sober as Yunho. Seonghwa is a close second to that, but he’s  _ giggly, _ which usually means he’s tipsy. San orders the table a round, and Yunho just sips whatever fruity concoction that San ordered, and it’s not half bad. He gets about halfway through it when the shitty club music comes down, and lights come up. Some guy walks on stage, and announces that ‘the show’ is beginning, and Yunho feels himself cringing just a bit. 

The guy walks back off stage, and the music switches up, and a group of four men walk out, and-

Oh sweet fucking gods, someone smite Yunho right now. 

“It’s fucking Mingi. Seonghwa, that’s fucking Mingi!” Yunho hisses, tugging at Seonghwa’s shirtsleeve.

Seonghwa rolls his eyes. “Yunho, you’re losing it. Your ex isn’t a stripper.”

“Yes, he is!” Yunho hisses and pulls his phone up, pulling up a picture of himself and Mingi and Sakura, and points to the guy in the cherry red suit all the way right on the stage. Seonghwa squints at the picture, and then on stage, and his eyes widen. 

“Oh shit, maybe it is.” Seonghwa blinks. 

“Oh dear god no. Get me out of here.” Yunho can feel panic rising in his chest, but Seonghwa keeps him in place. 

“Relax. You’re here to have a good time. He won’t even see you.” Seonghwa says. That, at least, calms him enough to the point of not feeling like he needs to leave. 

Yunho is somewhere between trying not to watch and watching so the others don’t poke fun at him. Mostly, Yunho thinks, he doesn’t want to watch Mingi. Except every  _ damn time _ he looks up at the stage, his eyes go straight to him, and his heart  _ races. _ The look on his face was one of pure filth, and Yunho’s mind goes to places. He watches as Mingi flows with the rhythm, his body moving in ways that Yunho can’t begin to comprehend. He’s fluid, he’s flexible, hes flaming fucking  _ hot.  _ Somewhere along the way, Mingi lost a jacket and whatever gloves he was wearing at the beginning, and now he’s just in the slacks, a button down, and a damn choker. 

Yunho just stares as Mingi grinds on the pole he’s wrapped around, and watches as he does the smallest spin around it, and slowly starts undoing the buttons on his shirt, finally getting to the last one and turning away, letting the shirt slip down his shoulder a bit, shaking his ass just a little as he sways with the rhythm of the music, and then-  _ fuck _ how the hell did he get his  _ pants off _ and he’s staring intently when Mingi turns around showing a gorgeous spanse of tan skin under his shirt, the lightly muscled image of abs making ridges in the smooth expanse of skin. The shirt still hangs off his shoulder, and he’s got the tiniest, skimpiest black shorts on now, but they’re a jet black color, a stark contrast to the cherry red of the shirt.

And now he’s dropping down to the floor, looking graceful and elegant, but somehow still hot, like this is all just a dance routine, he just loses clothing as he goes. It’s not sleazy, like Yunho had imagined a strip routine to be, it’s just- a borderline pornographic artform. Yunho watches as Mingi rolls his hips into the floor before he then flips onto his back and thrusts into the air, his gaze on the dark of the crowd.

Yunho can’t tell if he’s going to drop dead from a heart attack, or if he’s gonna pop a massive boner. 

Either one probably isn’t good when he’s supposed to be getting over Mingi. 

Yunho watches as the music stops, and Mingi is standing there looking flushed and sexy, and a tad bit sweaty, from the lights on him. He follows the rest of the dancers backstage, and then the announcer comes back over the speakers, introducing the first of the strippers, whose doing a solo routine, and of course, he’s got some dumb stripper name like velvet thunder or something, and Yunho can’t watch, because  _ what the fuck  _ kind of deodorant brand is velvet thunder? 

Yunho reaches a shaky hand out to grab his drink, deciding that he needs to be a great deal more drunk for all this shit. He sips his drink, attempting to reign his wild thoughts back in, but to no avail. His mind races with giant, stupid, questionable thoughts, and his brain is back on Mingi, and stripper names, as the announcer calls out for the next dancer. Again, it’s something overrated and utterly ridiculous, like lightning ludicrous, and then he remembers Mingi’s a stripper too, so he must have a stripper name too. But what the hell is  _ Mingi’s stripper name _ ?

It’s probably Legs McGee. 

Daddy Long Legs.

Yunho chokes on his fruit punch something or other drink, and Seonghwa gives him a look of concern. Yunho needs to stop thinking right fucking now or he’s going to die of embarrassment. Yunho kicks himself somewhere in the deep recesses of his mind, absolutely  _ loathing himself _ for having any thought like this. What happened to getting  _ over _ Mingi?

Then again, it’s not like he was doing any better before this; but at least his mind wasn’t wandering through the realm of ‘sex’ and ‘Mingi.’ Yunho chokes on all those thoughts too. Why the fuck is he like this? Why is this Yunho’s fucking horrible luck? 

Yunho is paying absolutely no attention to the other dancers on stage, just trying to suck down the rest of his drink, when the announcer’s voice comes back on, and he’s announcing ‘Song’ and- oh fuck it’s him again. 

Mingi struts on stage, his makeup glittering in the stage lights, his hair styled in a messy, wild, sexy bedhead, and he’s there, in skin tight (probably faux) leather pants, and a mesh top. The whole outfit is black, and decidedly badass, but borderline raunchy, and Yunho’s eyes are yet again glued to Mingi, mesmerized with every move he makes, down to the slightest detail, whether it be his expression (Yunho doesn’t miss the tongue darting out of his mouth,  _ oh no _ ), or the tiniest flick of his fingertip.

The shirt is lost rather quickly, and the jeans are doing some  _ work _ for those legs that Yunho’s always appreciated, his thighs looking like they want some sort of escape from the hellish confines of those pants. His  _ ass _ looks impeccable, and Yunho’s wondering how it would feel in his hands-

Yunho shakes his head, refusing to let that thought go  _ any further _ , because Yunho will be damned if he’s thirsting over the man that rejected him six days ago. He spares a glance at the rest of the drunken table, who are all watching, and following suit as the occasional person hoots or hollers, but mostly it’s applause, and- then Yunho sees Wooyoung giving him a wicked grin, one that clearly has intent behind it. 

Yunho gulps, afraid of whatever Wooyoung is planning to do. 

Mingi’s song ends, and he struts offstage, and the fourth dancer from earlier apparently doesn’t have a solo routine, but now more are filing out, and down into the common area, and walking amongst the tables. Yunho looks around at the table, and Wooyoung is whispering to San, and passing it down to Jeonghan, who tugs at Mingyu’s sleeve and beckons Hyungwon to conspire. San turns to Seonghwa, and murmurs something in his ear, watching as Seonghwa’s eyes go wide, and a look of something close to horror blooms on his expressions, and he shakes his head, whatever it is, it’s a bad idea-

And then there are three of the strippers, standing in front of their table, and one of them is asking about the bachelor party, and who the lucky man is. San throws Seonghwa under the bus, no problem, and they’re asking about lap dances, and then Wooyoung is quickly springing to take the lead, and he’s asking for  _ Song _ , and Yunho begins to panic.

They nod, and one of them heads off to find Mingi, and dear god, Yunho’s starting to stand, ready to escape, and he’s avoiding looking around the room, knowing that Mingi would show up at any moment, and if there’s any way that he can be avoided, Yunho is going to take it. 

“Guys, really? There’s something that you don’t know about-” Seonghwa starts, but before he can continue, Mingi has arrived, and Yunho can see the way he scans the table, and his eyes fall on Yunho. Yunho’s face goes as red as Mingi’s cherry red suit from earlier, and then Mingi is looking away. 

“You called?” Mingi says to the general population of the party, and Wooyoung’s smirk grows. 

“Yeah, I was wondering about a lap dance?”

“This a bachelor party right? Who is the groom?” Mingi glances at everyone but Yunho, and Yunho starts taking the opportunity to slink out of his chair. 

“He’s the groom, but the dance isn’t for him,” Wooyoung beckons to Seonghwa, who’s still seeming to try and get a word in about all this, but San just pats his arm and hushes him.

“So it’s for you?” Mingi inquires further. 

“No. It’s for  _ him. _ My hot friend in the maroon shirt, the one trying to  _ sneak away. _ ” Wooyoung really,  _ really  _ didn’t have to call him out like that, and Yunho winces when he’s caught, and Mingyu is tugging him back down into his chair, leaving Yunho to turn red all the way to his ears. 

“Wooyoung, seriously?!” Seonghwa gives him an incredulous look, and Yunho spares a glance at Mingi, who’s looking cool as a cucumber. 

“Yes. He’s been miserable all night, because some guy broke his heart and crushed his soul. But I mean, look at how  _ good _ he looks tonight, and this is probably the most action he’ll see tonight.” Wooyoung giggles, and Hyungwon and Mingyu laugh like hyenas. 

“You should have  _ seen _ him watching you!” Hyungwon wheezes.

“Oh? Well your friend here does look stunning. It’s a 200 dollar charge for a lap dance.” Mingi says like it’s nothing. Wooyoung quickly drags the other three (yes, including San) into the discussion, and they split the money four ways, shoveling it in Mingi’s direction, and Mingi counts it, before waving Yunho over, and Mingyu lets out a whoop of excitement and he and Hyungwon and San start pushing Yunho out of his chair. Yunho just sort of stumbles after Mingi.

Mingi leads him down a hallway, and into some room that’s full of couches, and curtains, and dim, color-changing lighting. “Make yourself comfortable.” Yunho can sense the cold in Mingi’s voice. 

“Min-”

“Don’t.” Mingi’s voice is stern now, and his eyes are closed. “Work life stays separate from private life.” And with that, he’s disappearing behind a curtain, leaving Yunho to sit there and have a crisis over the fact that the  _ guy he’s in love with _ is about to  _ give him a lap dance _ even though he broke Yunho’s heart. 

Mingi reappears almost five minutes later, and he’s in a third outfit, tight leather pants clinging to his legs, and the first cherry red shirt hanging off his frame. The music starts, and Mingi is a distance away from Yunho, and Yunho looks  _ anywhere _ but Mingi. Yunho doesn’t notice Mingi is standing before him until a silky gloved hand is grasping his chin and tipping his head up, forcing Yunho to look at him. His hips are swaying to the beat, and this all feels so right, but so decidedly  _ wrong.  _

“You don’t have to do this, you know. I- I didn’t want this, I didn’t even know this was your job, I just thought you were a bartender or something. Look, it wasn’t my idea to do this, I didn’t want to come, but it’s Seonghwa’s stupid bachelor party, and-”

“Shush. It doesn’t matter.”

“Yes it does, Mingi! I can’t do this with someone who- who-”

“Do  _ not  _ use my name!”

“I can’t- I can’t do this! I’m sorry!” Yunho stands abruptly, and fishes some money out of his pocket, and shoves it into Mingi’s gloved hands, panic rising in his chest. Yunho can feel it, everything has been building up to this moment, and Yunho just scrambles to find an exit, hurrying out the hallway and through all the tables, and out the doors. He can hear Seonghwa calling for him, but Yunho just walks out, sinking onto the steps, and starts to cry, his chest heaving and his heart aching. 

A few moments later, a hand falls on his shoulder, and someone is sitting beside him. “Yunho, I- I didn’t want you to find out this way. I didn’t- I didn’t want you to find out at all, really. That’s… why I left.”

Yunho shakes his head. “I wouldn’t have  _ cared, _ Mingi. It’s just a job.”

“It’s not- it’s not exactly,  _ ideal, _ you know…”

“It’s just a  _ job, _ Mingi! Jobs can be quit! Jobs don’t define you as a person! Jobs shouldn’t- they shouldn’t be something that decide whether you just- up and leave someone! God, I’ve been such a  _ mess,  _ Mingi! I’ve spent a week now wondering  _ what it was _ , that I did wrong, because- fuck, maybe I’m stupid, but I’ve been chasing you for six months now, and- I- maybe this is as stupid as I am, but- I think I was  _ in love with you _ , and we were- we were practically  _ dating _ , Mingi! And one day you just- ‘Yunho I can’t go to a wedding with you,’ ‘Yunho, I won’t be your boyfriend, why would you ask me that,’ and  _ fuck, Mingi _ . I’ve been miserable without you, and I’ve been tearing myself down over it, I just wanted to know where I went wrong, or what I did that made you run! 

“I’ve never been good at this, I’ve been too boring, or not their type, or not cool, or I didn’t party enough- for fucks sake,  _ so _ many people went on dates with me and got close to me to try and go out with fucking Seonghwa! Which, meeting my parents wouldn’t be a problem, because, the wedding I asked you to come to? That’s Seonghwa’s wedding, so nobody in my family would even be there! You wouldn’t have had to meet them!” Yunho is crying harder now. Mingi groans and puts his head in his hands. 

“Yunho, it’s nothing against you, I just-  _ fuck _ , I never should have let you get this close, because it never goes well, not with my job. I just- I was young once, and I fell in love once, and they found out about this damn job, and then it was downhill from there. Do you know what jealousy can do to a person? It changes you, it changes them… He hung around guys to retaliate for what I was doing, and he started accusing me of cheating, and- he wasn’t who I had fallen in love with. So I left. I was heartbroken for quite a while, but I’m here now, and I’m wiser. 

“I don’t let myself fall for people. I don’t let people close, I don’t let people fall for you. But I’ve failed both you and myself, because Yunho you are  _ literally  _ the definition of my dream guy. And I let you in, and I let myself fall for you. I should have let you down easier, I should have  _ told you _ , but I’m a dumbass, and I didn’t.” Mingi sighs, and looks up at Yunho, whose face is streaked with tears, and he’s hiccuping on tears, and he’s snot nosed, and his face is puffy (Yunho knows, he probably looks disgusting, and he’s thoroughly embarrassed with the fact that Mingi, of all people, has to see him like this). 

Mingi reaches up, and gently swipes at his eyes with his thumbs, his eyes full of regret. “Yunho, I’m sorry. I- I truly am, for the pain I’ve caused you, and the hurt you’ve had to go through, and the worry I’ve put you through. But I’m sorry for me, because I have to live the rest of my life knowing that you’re the one that got away. It’s selfish, but, Yunho, I’m pretty sure I’m in love with you too, and I can’t be, I shouldn’t be.”

Yunho’s heart shatters at that, if it wasn’t already broken. He surges forward, and kisses Mingi, who gladly gives in, and Yunho’s world feels like it’s complete, but falling apart, all at once. His whole body feels a weird mixture of fire and ice, and the kiss feels like he’s falling into eternity, and it’s  _ bliss _ but it’s  _ hell. _ It’s short, but feels like forever, and just a few moments later, Mingi is pulling away, Yunho’s face still in his hands. Yunho’s own tears are reflected in Mingi’s eyes, they’re full of mist and yearning. 

“Let yourself  _ love _ , Mingi… Please…” Yunho knows it’s weak, and he knows it. “You shouldn’t- you shouldn’t have to suffer, for a job.”

“Yunho, I can’t-”

Yunho chokes on a sob and just lets his head fall against Mingi’s shoulder, his own shaking with his cries. Mingi wraps him up, holding him tightly.

“I’m sorry.”

Yunho cries into his shoulder for a while, until he feels like he can’t cry anymore. “Why? Why are you sorry? Why aren’t you letting yourself have this one? Why are you so afraid of this? Mingi, I- I could get you whatever you want, I could pay your bills, I- I don’t mind, I just-”

“I don’t want to depend on anyone for that stuff. It’s not fair to them, to have to pay for my everything. And I don’t think it’s fair to myself. If we broke up, I’d be without anything.” Mingi’s voice is a bit cold, and Yunho winces. 

“I- I’m sorry. You’re right.” Yunho kicks himself. He didn’t mean to come off as a pretentious asshole, but he’s grabbing for anything he can, here, because he  _ wants _ this, more than anything in the world, and he knows that Mingi wants it too, and he just wants Mingi to be  _ happy _ . 

“Don’t- it’s not the first offer I’ve had. You wanna know why I’m in this business?” Mingi says softly. Yunho nods a little, but doesn’t meet his eyes. “I work at a coffee shop. It pays the bills on it’s own, but- I want a dance studio. That’s- that’s been my  _ dream _ , Yunho. I want to run a dance studio.”

“You dance?” Yunho says quietly, and Mingi nods. 

“I used to dance my entire life. Since I was 6. I went to college for dance, and was one of the best there.I had famous studios asking me to come and work for them, and- it was amazing. I was  _ happy _ . Until one day, I pushed myself too hard. I had a strain, and had to rest for a few weeks, but luck have it, I got in a car accident, and hurt my back more. I couldn’t dance for  _ two years _ . I was finally healed, but I had nothing left. And then I had the debt of four years of private art school, which is where this comes in. It’s paying my  _ debt _ , Yunho. It’s the closest job I can have to dance. It’s undignified, and I don’t like it, and it’s not really where I want to be, but I’m doing it so I can get to where I want to be. Once my debt is paid, I can take out another loan, put my car up for collateral, and buy a studio.”

Yunho stares at him. “Let me help. Please, Mingi.”

“Yunho, no, I-”

“Mingi, I- I don’t- I can’t say I don’t care that we’re not dating, or that you don’t want to date me, or whatever, because, honestly, that hurts, but- I want to see you happy, more than anything. Truly, it is. I- I’d love to help you. I’ll make Seonghwa co-sign on the loan, and then if- if we ever fall out, I can’t sue you or something.”

“Yunho, you big idiot, I  _ want _ to date you. I just- not with this job.”

“Then quit. You said you don’t like it.”

“Then I won’t have enough to pay off my student loans, Yunho. That’s why I’m here. And I don’t- I don’t hate it. I like dancing, and- I like knowing that people are  _ watching. _ I feel powerful, people find me sexy, they find me enticing. I like that part. Not the dirty men that come here regularly, and offer to buy me out, to be their personal little slut or something. And I don’t like that I feel like I can’t love someone.”

“I know a guy, at a firm, he’s looking for an assistant. It’s just desk work, and filing papers and shit, but- I’ll put in a good word for you. Then the coffee shop can be your side gig, and you can pay for loans that way.”

“Yunho, you’ve done enough for me, you really don’t need to.”

“No, Mingi, I’d love to help. I mean it. I sound fucking desperate, I get that, but, whatever. Feelings aside, Mingi, we’re at least friends. If that’s your dream, then I want to help you achieve it.”

“Yunho… I can’t make you do that.”

“Mingi…” Yunho sighs, trying not to let the pleading sound edge into his voice. “Look… I just- please don’t cut me out again. Even if- I can’t help you, if you won’t let me, then please let me stay by your side, and support you. As a friend. I don’t think I could do that again, I- you mean a lot to me, feelings aside. You’re so much fun to be around, and you’re hilarious, and you’re a dork, and- just- please, Mingi. I want to be there for you.” 

Yunho meets Mingi’s eyes, and he’s staring at Yunho, his own eyes full of tears. Mingi’s mouth works, like he can’t seem to find the words to say, and then he’s closing his mouth again, confliction passing over his beautiful features, and then he’s surging forward, and-

They’re kissing. 

They’re  _ kissing. _

_ AGAIN. _

It’s yet again, brief, but they both feel it, everything that needs to be said, and everything that is wanted, but can’t be said with words. It’s over just as quickly as it began, and Mingi is pulling away and looking at Yunho with sad eyes. 

“I just- Yunho, I am in love with you, hopelessly so, and- I just- nobody has ever wanted to- to  _ do  _ something like this for me…” Mingi says softly. “I don’t- I don’t get it…”

“I  _ care _ , Mingi, I don’t think I’ll ever stop, no matter what.”

**Author's Note:**

> I had no fucking idea how to end this, but it's ended. Maybe this can have a part two but I don't know, honestly. This was a hot mess.
> 
> Follow me on Twitter, I guess. @cereal_jbob


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